Farming & Environment

Farming & Environment A day at the farm

with Tiffany Fleming

Tiffany Fleming is a volunteer at High Mead Farm in Longham, Ferndown. High Mead Farm is a working farm run to promote the benefits of engaging with animals, soil, and nature. They ‘create purposeful roles for our cofarmers, young people and adults alike, to help bring about a sense of wellbeing and self-worth that many have never experienced before’.

The extraordinary weather during February put me in mind of the old farmers’ proverb, ‘in like a lion, out like a lamb’, except the lion roared loudly and just carried on roaring. The lamb was nowhere to be seen. It will be interesting to see what March brings. As storms Dudley, Eunice, and Franklin raged, we held our breath expecting to hear news that the farm had been whisked away, Wizard of Oz style. To be fair, bits of it did disappear, the smoking shelter for example. The event was dubbed by Mark, the farm’s founder, as ‘a sign’; mother nature’s affirmation that smoking is bad for you. Whilst High Mead got away relatively lightly and with less damage than we’d anticipated, its closure on the Friday came hot on the heels of the weeklong Covid break closure. It impacted on our income, the health and wellbeing of our Co-Farmers, and the natural rhythm of the farm. On their return, the CoFarmers set about the clean-up. Retrieving parts of the smoking shelter from next door’s field, removing the general detritus, and up-righting upset animal shelters. On the positive front, DP Marquees donated their old marquee flooring which is super-efficient at keeping the mud at bay on the farm. I love to see the many different ways the farm makes use of seemingly unwanted materials; it is particularly satisfying to know the matting has been saved from landfill. The fundraising team are busy filling in grant application forms for the year ahead. One such form, completed by shop volunteer Sue Sutton, was for the Wessex Water Dorset Community Awards, hosted by the Dorset Echo. We were delighted to hear that we’d been shortlisted for both the categories Sue entered us for, and thanks you to, our farm supporters, we won not just one but both of them! While I was absolutely thrilled to win the Community Hero award, I did stress that I was simply collecting the award on behalf of all the real heroes at High Mead Farm; the staff and volunteers who turn out in all weathers and have done so for years. Awards like this are important because they create better awareness of organisations like the farm and the amazing service they

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Pictures: TIFFANY FLEMING

offer the community. I’d like to say a huge thank-you to everyone who voted for us and offer my congratulations to all my friends and colleagues at High Mead Farm; you are all amazing.

Farm fact: The saying ‘in like a lion, out like a lamb’ most likely started as a reference to astronomy, referencing the position of the constellations Leo (a lion) and Aries (a ram, or lamb) in the night sky — it quickly evolved into a succinct summation of March’s changing weather as the seasons change from winter to spring in the Northern Hemisphere.

Farm plans considered New proposals to change the use and layout of Wilksworth Farm Caravan Park in Colehill, are being considered by Dorset Council. Comments are open until March 24 on application P/ FUL/2022/01120 to replace 60 touring caravan pitches with 33 holiday lodges. Plans to station a total of 137 static caravans (including the 77 current pitches) and retention of the camping field were refused in July last year. A heritage statement accompanies the new proposal by Shorefield Holidays Limited to site the lodges to the south of the Grade II* listed Wilksworth Farmhouse and Grade II listed Granary. James Webb of Forum Heritage Services says the historic core of the former farm group has been identified as making a major contribution to the significance of the listed farmhouse and granary and non-designated heritage assets, but they say the wider setting beyond the core, is now characteristic of an established camping and caravan park and contributes very little to the understanding of the farm group. The proposal includes changing the use of the plot to the south-east, siting holiday lodges on gravel pitches, and removing winter storage currently provided within the historic core for touring caravans where a gravelled area will be replaced with informal open green space. Mr Webb says the proposed scheme differs from previous schemes in acknowledging the need to link the open rural landscape to the south and the historic core of the farm group by keeping a section of the southern fields open and free of caravans or lodges.

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